Kiss those Math Headaches GOODBYE!

Archive for the ‘Order of Operations’ Category

So, you’d think that combining a positive number and a negative number would be a fairly straightforward thing, huh?

Well, unfortunately, a lot of students think it’s easy. They think it’s too easy. They think there’s one simple rule that guides them to the very same kind of answer every time. And that’s exactly where they get into trouble.

The truth is that combining a positive and a negative number is a fairly complicated operation, and the sign of the answer is dependent on a nmber of factors.

This video reveals a common mistake students make when tackling these problems. it also shows the correct way to approach these problems, using the analogy of having money and owing money to make everything make sense.

So take a look and see if this explanation doesn’t end the confusion once and for all.

And don’t forget: there are practice problems at the end of the video. Do those to make sure you’ve grasped the concept.

How do you get math terms out of parentheses? And what happens to those terms when you remove the parentheses?

It seems like the process should be simple. But this issue often plagues students; they keep getting points off on tests, quizzes, homework assignments. What’s the deal?

The deal is that there’s a specific process you need to follow when taking terms out of parentheses, and what you do hinges on whether there’s a positive sign (+) or a negative sign (–) in front of the parentheses.

But not to worry. This video on this page settles the question once and for all. Not only that, but the video provides a story-based approach that you can teach (if you’re an instructor) or learn (if you’re a student) and remember (no matter who you are). Why? Because stories are FUN and MEMORABLE.

So kick back and relax (yes, it’s math, but you have a right to relax) and let the video show you how this process is done.

And in customary style, I present practice problems (along with the answers, too) at the end of the video so you can be sure you understand what you believe you understand.

How’s that? Well, you’re supposed to use the distributive property when a number multiplies terms inside parentheses.

But sometimes students get a little bit — shall we say — “carried away” — and use the distributive property principle in other situations, too. The results are a tad bit comic, if you’re the teacher, but not so funny if you’re the student and you’ve made the mistake 19 times on a test with 20 problems.

Anyhow, after you watch the following video you shouldn’t have to worry about this again because we’ll get the two wires in your mind untangled so you never make this mistake again. So just relax, watch and learn.

And oh yes, don’t forget that we’ve provided some practice problems at the end of the video to help you make sure you’ve got the concept nailed down.

Now that you’ve gotten a taste for the benefits of analyzing algebraic mistakes, it’s time to explore a second common mistake. This one is so common that nearly every student commits it at least once on the road to algebra success.

As you watch the video, notice how by thinking hard about two expressions, we can think this mistake through to its very root, thus discovering the core difference between two similar-looking algebraic expressions.

And along the road, we’ll learn a general strategy for decoding the meaning of algebraic expressions. What I like about this strategy is that you can use it to understand the meaning of pretty much any algebraic expression, and you’ll see that it’s not a hard thing to do. In fact, it just involves using numbers in a nifty way.

Best of all, students usually find this approach interesting, convincing and even a bit fun. So here goes, Common Algebra Mistake #2 …

We’re going to have some fun spotting, analyzing, dissecting, exploring, explaining and fixing those COMMON ALGEBRA MISTAKES, the ones that drive students and teachers UP THE WALL!

I’ve had so much experience tutoring that I find these mistakes fascinating, and I intend to share my (ok, bizarre) fascination in this series of videos.

Also, be aware that I’m very much OPEN to suggestions from you folks on mistakes that you’d like me to explore. I highly value the experience and wisdom of you students and educators, and I want to do all I can to work with you to un-earth the mistakes of algebra, and bring them to the light of day so we can find ways to stay out of their way!

Here’s the first video on these mesmerizing mistakes. Could any mistake be more classic than this very one? I doubt it. But watch the video and form your own opinion …

As you’re probably aware, I’m a big believer in using stories to bring math to life. Especially when you’re teaching tricky concepts, using a story can be the “magic switch” that flicks on the light of understanding. Armed with story-based understanding, students can recall how to perform difficult math processes. And since people naturally like stories and tend to recall them, skills based on story-based understanding really stick in the mind. I’ve seen this over and over in my tutoring.

The kind of story I’m talking about uses an extended-metaphor, and this way of teaching is particularly helpful when you’re teaching algebra. Ask yourself: what would you rather have? Students scratching their heads (or tearing out their hair) to grasp a process taught as a collection of abstract steps? Or students grasping a story and quickly seeing how it guides them in doing the math? I think the answer is probably pretty clear. So with this benefit in mind, let’s explore another story that teaches a critical algebraic skill: the skill of “unpacking” terms locked inside parentheses.

To get the picture, first imagine that each set of parentheses, weirdly or not, represents a corrugated cardboard box, the kind that moving companies use to pack up your possessions. Extending this concept, the terms inside parentheses represent the items you pack when you move your goodies from one house to another. Finally, for every set of parentheses (the box), imagine that you’ve hired either a good moving company or a bad moving company. (You can use a good company for one box and a bad company for a different “box” — it changes.) How can you tell whether the moving company is good or bad? Just look at the sign to the left of the parentheses. If the moving company is GOOD, you’ll see a positive sign to the left of the parentheses. If the moving company is BAD, you’ll spot a negative sign there.

Here’s how this idea looks:

+ ( ) The + sign here means you’ve hired a GOOD moving company for this box of stuff.

– ( ) This – sign means that you’ve hired a BAD moving company to pack up this box of things.

Now let’s put a few “possessions” inside the boxes.

+ (2x – 4) This means a GOOD moving company has packed up your treasured items: the 2x and the – 4.

– (2x – 4) Au contraire! This means that a BAD moving company has packed up the 2x and the – 4.

[Remember, of course, that the term 2x is actually a + 2x. No sign visible means there’s an invisible + sign before the term.]

What difference does it make if the moving company is GOOD or BAD? A big difference! If it’s a GOOD company, it packs your things up WELL. Result: when you unpack your items, they come out exactly the same way in which they went into the box. So since a good moving company packed up your things in the expression: + (2x – 4), when you go to unpack your things, everything will come out exactly as it went in. Here’s a representation of this unpacking process:

+ (2x – 4)

= + 2x – 4

Note that when we take terms out of parentheses, we call this “unpacking” the terms. This works because algebra teachers fairly often describe the process of taking terms out of ( ) as “unpacking” the terms. So here’s a story whose rhetoric matches the rhetoric of the algebraic process. Convenient, is it not?

Now let’s take a look at the opposite situation — what happens when you work with a BAD (boo, hiss!) moving company. In this case, the company does such a bad job that when you unpack your items, each and every item comes out “broken.” In math, we indicate that terms are “broken” by showing that when they come out of the ( ), their signs, + or – signs, are the EXACT OPPOSITE of what they should be. So if a term was packed up as a + term, it would come out as a – term. Vice-versa, if it was packed up as a – term, it would come out as a + term. We show the process of unpacking terms packed by a BAD moving company, as follows:

– (2x – 4)

= – 2x + 4

And that pretty much sums up the entire process. Understanding this story, students will be able to “unpack” terms from parentheses, over and over, with accuracy and understanding.

But since Practice Makes Perfect, here are a few problems to help your kiddos perfect this skill.

PROBLEMS:

“Unpack” these terms by removing the parentheses and writing the terms’ signs correctly:

a) – (5a + 3)

b) + (5a – 3)

c) – (– 3a + 2b – 7)

d) + (– 3a + 2b – 7)

e) 6 + (3a – 2)

f) 6 – (3a – 2)

g) 4a + 6 + (– 9a – 5)

h) 4a + 6 – (– 9a – 5)

ANSWERS:

a) – (5a + 3) = – 5a – 3

b) + (5a – 3) = + 5a – 3

c) – (– 3a + 2b – 7) = + 3a – 2b + 7

d) + (– 3a + 2b – 7) = – 3a + 2b – 7

e) 6 + (3a – 2) = + 3a + 4

f) 6 – (3a – 2) = – 3a + 8

g) 4a + 6 + (– 9a – 5) = – 5a + 1

h) 4a + 6 – (– 9a – 5) = + 13a + 11

Josh Rappaport is the author of five books on math, including the Parents Choice-award winning Algebra Survival Guide. If you like how Josh explains these problems, you’ll certainly like the Algebra Survival Guide and companion Workbook, both of which are available on Amazon.com Just click the links in the sidebar for more information!

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